Not Applicable
The present invention relates to sewing, in particular to a sewn article, sewing machine for sewing the sewn article, and a method for sewing two or more pieces to form the sewn article.
Multiple pieces of material are often sewn together to form a single large piece of material. For example, a covering for a leather seat in an automobile comprises two or more pieces of leather which are sewn together along edges of the individual leather pieces. The seam between the two pieces, must be strong to prevent the pieces from separating, and, in the example of a car seat covering, the seam must be decorative, or pleasing to the consumer.
A known method, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, used to join two pieces of leather for car seat covering includes positioning the two pieces of leather on top of each other, such that the finished surfaces of the pieces are facing each other, and sewing a first seam spaced inwardly from an edge of the pieces to define a selvedge between the seam and the edge of each piece of leather. The material is then laid flat, such that the finished surfaces of the leather pieces face upwardly, and the selvedge of each piece of leather is folded back in a butterfly fashion, underneath the respective leather piece. A twin needle sewing machine is then used to sew a seam on opposing sides of the first seam and through the folded selvedge. The twin needle sewing machine has two needles to simultaneously sew the two seams on opposing sides of the first seam. Each needle penetrates the leather to provide a decorative twin needle stitch. The sewn selvedge increases the strength of the triple seam, and prevents the sewn article from tearing.
This particular method has been in use for many years. However, folding the selvedge back in a butterfly fashion underneath the leather pieces is difficult for the sewing machine operator. Moreover, the material, such as leather, is expensive, and the selvedge must be large enough, such as 7-10 mm, to fold back and engage one of the needles of the twin needle sewing machine. Therefore, a need exist for a decorative stitch which has sufficient strength for a desired application, and has a minimal selvedge.
The present invention provides an article including a first piece of material having a margin extending inwardly from an edge of the material. The margin has an inner edge spaced from the material edge. A second piece of material having a margin extending inwardly from an edge of the second material is joined to the first piece of material along inner edges of the margins. A third piece of material is fixed over the margins, and has a first edge fixed to the first piece of material and a second edge fixed to the second piece of material.
The article is made by positioning the first piece of material over the second piece of material, and aligning an edge of the first piece of material with an edge of the second piece of material. The pieces are fixed together along a seam line which is a predetermined distance from the aligned edges to define a selvedge in each piece of material between the seam line and each aligned edge. The third piece of material is positioned covering the selvedges, and fixed to the other pieces of material along a line substantially parallel to said seam line.
A general objective of the present invention is to provide a sewn article with a minimal selvedge length. This objective is accomplished by joining two pieces of material together with a joining seam, and then fixing a third piece of material over the selvedges to the first two pieces of material.
This and still other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description which follows. In the detailed description below, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in reference to the accompanying drawings. These embodiments do not represent the full scope of the invention. Rather the invention may be employed in other embodiments. Reference should therefore be made to the claims herein for interpreting the breadth of the invention.